Investing in nuclear power is a risky venture right now. While nuclear power can be a clean and reliable source of energy, the drawbacks to nuclear energy make investing in nuclear power speculative at this point. The recent disaster in Japan along with the problems experienced in the former Soviet Union and in the United States has put a negative spotlight on the future of nuclear energy. Once the Japan disaster was reported, all plans to build future nuclear plants all over the world were put on hold. Analysts point out that the drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico has already resumed only a short time after the disastrous oil spill there. That means that there could be a chance that nuclear energy could see a return before too long. But there are several issues that need to be resolved first.

Investing in nuclear power means finding ways to dispose of nuclear waste. This is the part of nuclear power that is not discussed as much as the disasters that seem to follow the industry. But when you get involved in investing in nuclear power, you are getting involved in the controversial issue of disposing of nuclear waste. Unlike most other forms of waste, nuclear waste cannot be destroyed or recycled. It needs to sit for hundreds of years before it can be safely disposed of. This is where the problems lie and one of the major hurdles that face the nuclear energy industry. Communities understandably do not want nuclear waste facilities nearby and there needs to be a place to store the waste while it is still radioactive.

While there can be a safety factor in investing in nuclear power, it relies on several things to become a factor. In Japan, it was an earthquake that triggered the disaster. Investing in nuclear power means finding ways to strengthen nuclear power plants and engineering them so that they can withstand natural disasters. In some cases, the effects of a nuclear power plant disaster can be much worse than the natural disaster itself.

But people are still investing in nuclear power and with good reason. Investing in nuclear power is investing in an energy source that remains viable. The money invested into nuclear power now is going towards research to solve the long-term issues of nuclear power and to try and get new nuclear power plants back online to serve future customers.